With the announcement that the Winter Classic has officially been cancelled, thinking of material to hold your interest can get difficult. However it’s also a time where I can sit back and write about some things that I normally wouldn’t have time for. This will be a series called “He Coulda Been A Florida Panther” that will examine the Florida Panthers first round draft picks, and who they “could’ve” drafted instead. It’s easy to look back and analyze, especially with what is known after the fact, but we need some fun. Although I think in a few cases, we’ll shed some tears.

Today we take a look at the first round of 1994. The Florida Panthers who were coming off a very successful first season, landed the top pick in the draft and made a very solid choice with their pick. Ed Jovanovski, a big, offensively talented blue liner who could score, and pass in addition to playing with a nasty snarl was an easy choice. The Panthers who were a defensive minded team at that time, wanted to shore up their blue line, and by adding Jovo, they felt that found a player that could be built around for a very long time.